To enroll in American University of Technology, prospective undergraduate students must at least have graduated from high school or the equivalent. Master’s students must have at least a bachelor’s degree. Students must demonstrate their ability to complete college-level coursework by satisfying our academic eligibility requirements.

All students must be accepted by the American University of Technology through the admissions process. Students that are accepted are done so provisionally and are not considered fully matriculated students until they have successfully passed 18 credits worth of courses with American University of Technology.

• Windows 7 or greater, Macintosh OS X, or comparable Linux system
• High-speed Internet connection (cable, DSL, etc.). A dial-up connection will likely not work, due to the required streaming audio & video in each course.
• Computer sound card
• Word processor and spreadsheet program (Microsoft Word & Excel recommended; OpenOfficeis a free alternative)
• Internet Web browser (Google Chromeor Mozilla Firefox recommended – both free downloads)
• Personal e-mail address (can use Gmailor Yahoo free accounts)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download from http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/)

Students requiring technical support should email: support@actech.education

Either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is well-suited to display American University of Technology class web pages and the interactive elements of our online courses. We recommend that students install one of them before beginning their studies, if they have not done so already. Both can be downloaded for free. Browser SettingsTo use American University of Technology’s learning management system, you will need to enable cookies in your Web browser. They should be enabled by default, but if there are not, you may read this article to learn how to do it in various Web browsers. For the most recent versions of Firefox, you should read their instructions. 

 Reading PDF Documents

Because PDF documents are used in all American University of Technology courses, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader working properly on your PC to access assigned readings and other online learning resources used in American University of Technology courses. You may download it here.

 Managing Word & Excel Documents

In American University of Technology courses, Microsoft Word and Excel document files are used mainly for study guides that you will complete with answers taken from assigned readings or recorded lectures. We encourage you to create a special directory (or “folder”) on your PC just for the storage of your American University of Technology word processing files.

When you access one of these files, your web browser should prompt you to either open the file or save it to disk. You will want to save them to your computer’s hard drive and remember the name of the directory to which you saved them. You will need to be able to access the files later.

Word and Excel documents used in the courses are typically in the 2010 format. If you are using an earlier version, download the free file converter from Microsoft Downloads. If the files have a .docx, .xlsx, or .pptx extension and you can’t open them even after attempting to use the file converter, contact technical support at support@actech.education and we can create a version of the files that are compatible with older versions of Office.

 Printing Pages You View Online

You may print any of the course pages by going to File > Print Preview, then clicking the Print button, and then selecting the printer you wish to use. Alternatively, you may highlight the specific text that you wish to print, right-click to select Copy, and then Paste it into a blank Word document before printing.

 Virus Detection and Prevention*

• Do not open any files attached to an email from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy source.
• Do not open any files attached to an email unless you know what it is, even if it appears to come from a friend or someone you know. Some viruses can replicate themselves and spread through email. Confirm that your contact sent an attachment.
• Do not open any files attached to an email if the subject line is questionable or unexpected.
• Delete chain emails and junk email. Do not forward or reply to any to them. These types of email are considered spam – unsolicited, intrusive messages that clog up the inboxes and networks.
• Do not download any files from strangers.
• Exercise caution when downloading files from the Internet. Ensure that the source is a legitimate and reputable one. Verify that an anti-virus program checks the files on the download site.
• Update your antivirus software regularly. Many providers like Microsoft Security Essentials (free in Windows 7 and up) or McAfee update automatically and continuously via the Internet once they have been activated.
• Back up your files on a regular basis. If a virus destroys your files, at least you can replace them with your backup copy. You should store your backup copy in a separate location from your work files, one that is preferably not on your computer.
• When in doubt, always err on the side of caution and do not open, download, or execute any files or email attachments. Not executing is the most important of these caveats. Check with your product vendors for updates for your operating system, web browser, and email. One example is the security site section of Microsoft located at http://www.microsoft.com/security.